The soldiers of hospital battalion 2, mobilized in Moudon (VD), received either a 2nd dose or a booster on Monday during their medical visit. KEYSTONE / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT sda-ats
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–This content was published on December 27, 2021 – 5:56 PM
(Keystone-ATS)
Some 150 soldiers from Hospital Battalion 2 entered service on Monday at Moudon barracks (VD). They will support the health sector in the cantons of Jura, Valais, Neuchâtel and Friborg over the coming days.
The additional troops were welcomed on Monday at Moudon barracks by the new commander of Territorial Division 1 Mathias Tüscher and by Lieutenant-Colonel EMG Raoul Barca, commander of hospital battalion 2, a medical unit made up of 900 soldiers.
About 100 of them will serve the health sector. The other 50 will take care of the service, including transport, cooking and cleaning, captain Raoul Barca told Keystone-ATS.
Before joining the company, the soldiers spent Monday for a health visit and had the opportunity to have either a second vaccination or the booster. The soldiers are also already required to wear an FFP2 mask: it will be made compulsory from January 1 for the troops engaged.
Deployment from Thursday
Tuesday and Wednesday, the military will review their basic care knowledge before deploying to the field by the end of the week. They will be accommodated in barracks or hotels, depending on availability. In all cases on the surface, in places that can be ventilated, said the commander.
The main effort is to support vaccination in cantonal centers. In some of them, the military will administer the vaccine, in others they will also prepare the doses. The second mission will be to support nursing staff in hospitals, mainly in intensive care, noted Lieutenant-Colonel Maxime Fontaine, communications manager of Territorial Division 1.
Third summons
“Since March 2020, this is the third time that soldiers have been summoned due to the coronavirus. Some have already completed a hundred days of engagement,” said Raoul Barca.
Despite the interruptions of professional activities, vacations and the end of the year period, “their state of mind is relatively good,” he added. Brigadier Mathias Tüscher said he admired this proof of confederal solidarity during the Holidays.
Relief
Mobilized last Tuesday by text message, these some 150 soldiers will relieve a large part of the 90 long-service soldiers engaged since early December to support the health system of the four cantons. There are no other known requests in French-speaking Switzerland, according to the brigadier.
Mathias Tüscher recalled that the army is responding to a request from the federal authorities. It intervenes quickly where it is needed and then withdraws as soon as the service is no longer required.
On December 7, the Federal Council decided on a new army support service for the benefit of the civilian authorities. Up to 2,500 soldiers will be able to provide support to hospitals for the care and transport of patients as well as to the cantons for vaccination.
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